In Vitro Meat And Animal Welfare

"In Vitro Meat": What is it?

I had never even heard of "In Vitro Meat" before this class started, therefore, I had to conduct an in-depth investigation to figure out exactly what it is and why it is being developed. According to The Journal of Food and Science Technology, In Vitro meat is, "The idea is to grow meat in a culture in the lab and manipulate its composition selectively" (Sharma). This means that this so-called "meat" is an artificial cellular substance developed in a lab to replicate—and possibly even replace—traditional animal meats.

Scientists are trying to duplicate the cells in live animals in order to optimize production, secure our food source, treat animals more humanely, and produce safer meat overall.

Negatives.

As far as I've researched the discoveries and inner workings of in vitro meats, I haven't come across many negative possible outcomes of this transition. I think it is absolutely horrendous how the meat industry treats their animals, and I would love to see an end to this horrible tradition. The initial thought of overpopulation of these meat-producing animals was concerning, but during the time period when cellular meat slowly becomes the new normal, we could finish managing the already bred animals and regulate the population of the survivors. According to the Cellular Agriculture Society, "cellular agriculture would eliminate our need to farm animals. Removing animals from farming means eliminating all animal welfare issues in agriculture forever and ensuring the trillions of animals killed in agriculture annually would never be slaughtered again" (Gasteratos). Another negative outcome from this transition would be that thousands of farmers would lose their jobs. Although this would be tragic for the farmers and their families, I truly believe it would be a change for the better for humans as a whole.

Positives.

There are a vast number of reasons why switching from factory farming to in vitro meat would be a good idea. For one, many people get sick and even die from contaminated meat due to the poor conditions and overuse of antibiotics in factory farms. According to The Good Food Institute, "700,000 people die each year from antibiotic-resistant diseases, while the rampant use of antibiotics in farm animals continues to breed more resistant strains of deadly bacteria" (Byrd). This problem would be almost completely eliminated with closely monitored lab-cultivated meat cells. Another issue that this would solve is the horrible impact that factory farming has on the environment. Thousands upon thousands of miles have been converted into cramped farmland, which is impossible to run with only manpower. All of the machines used throughout the process of breeding, feeding, and harvesting these animals emit toxin greenhouse gases, which create irreparable holes in the Earth’s ozone layer. According to the Good Food Institute, "There is factory farming’s massive contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, which accelerates climate change – a crisis that the WHO estimates will cause an additional 250,000 deaths each year between 2030 and 2050" (Byrd). I think the environmental saving factors are enough to kick-start this transition, before we destroy our planet forever.

Conclusion.

Ultimately, I am personally for the production and normalization of in vitro meat as humanity's primary animal meat source. I think it would work wonders for the environment and help end the suffering of millions upon millions of innocent animals each year. Not to mention, if the whole production process of meat is completely clean and monitored the entire time, the likelihood of diseases spreading through these meats is minuscule. It could save thousands of lives each year, and I truly believe that the factory farming business needs to come to an end once and for all.

Quorn?

Quorn is a company based in the United Kingdom that is currently creating and selling meat substitute products. These products taste and look like real meat, all the while they are actually completely plant-based and developed in a lab by scientists. This "meat" is actually a result of fermentation from a certain type of fungus, which contains mycoproteins. These products are full of protein, vegan, cruelty-free, often gluten-free and always contain low or no amounts of saturated fats. The owner of the company says, "At Quorn, we have a simple message: to bring people delicious and exciting food that is good for them and good for the planet. The ethical, health and environmental benefits of Quorn foods put corporate responsibility at the heart of everything we do" (Kevin Brennan – CEO).

Works Cited

Brennan, Kevin. "Quorn." Marlow Foods, www.quorn.us/about-quorn. Accessed 14 Oct. 2018.
Byrd, Emily. "Mapping the Clean Meat Industry." The Good Food Institute, The GFI, 6 June 2017, www.gfi.org/mapping-the-clean-meat-industry?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlOCUzf-J3gIVVbbACh2r1gNWEAAYAiAAEgLVtfD_BwE.
Gasteratos, Kristopher. Cellular Agriculture Society. CAS, www.cellag.org?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlrmJpoOK3gIVjsDACh1BJAnNEAAYASAAEgLgNvD_BwE. Accessed 14 Oct. 2018.
Sharma, Shruti, et al. "In vitro meat production system: why and how?" Journal of Food and Science Technology, Association of Food Scientists & Technologists, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4648904/__ffn_sectitle. Accessed 13 Oct. 2018.

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